Plow.



J. W. SOUTHWIGK.

PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1910. u 1,031,594. Y Patented July 2, 1912.

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PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1910.

1,031,594. Patented July 2, 1912.

JAMESWSouTHwIcK,

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JAMES W. SOUTHWICK, 0F SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

PLOW.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1912.

Application filed August 6, 1910. Serial No. 575,995.

To all whom 'it muy concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WV. SOUTH- wrcii, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Plows,of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description aswill enable others skilled in the art to make and use my said invention.

This invention relates to plows for deep plowing, adapted to penetrateand slice the soil to the depth to which it is to be plowed and move theslices laterally without turning over the soil; and pulverize the slicesduring the lateral movement thereof.

Prior to my invention the practice has been to cut a furrow ten ortwelve inches in width and two or more inches in depth, and by means ofthe mold board of the plow, turn over and pulverize the cut. Thispractice is unsatisfactory, because in dry weather the heat of the sunquickly dries out the shallow turned cut and the soil becomes parched;or if the season is wet, the shallow cut will become water-soaked. Ineither case the conditions will be very unfavorable to the proper growthof vegetation.

My invention contemplates cutting the soil into deep slices and thensliding the slices laterally and pulverizing them without turning overthe surface soil. The practical advantages of thismode of tillage are:The cuts are in relatively thin vertical slices which are thoroughlypulverized, and there are, therefore, no clods; the deep tillage affordsgood drainage so that the soil does not become water-soaked; and thedeeply broken soil permits the roots of vegetation to extend well downinto the soil so that the crop will not suffer from the drouth.

I have illustrated the invent-ion as applied to a riding plow, it is,however, applicable to walking plows.

The purposes of the invention are to provide a blade ofimproved form,adapted to cut deeply into the soil to divide it into vertical slicesand coincidently with the cutting to move laterally the slices' of earthwhich are being cut by the blade, and also adapted to lift somewhat thecut slices; to provide means adapted to support a plurality of bladesoperating jointly; to provide means for adjusting the depth of cut andholding the blades in the different positions in which they may be set,and to provide other new and useful features of construction, as willhereinafter more fully appear.

The invention is embodied in an apparatus shown in the annexed drawingsto which reference is hereby made, and is hereinafter particularlydescribed and finally recited in the claims.

Figure l is a top plan of a riding plow embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a right-- hand side elevation of the plow; Fig. 3 is an enlargedvertical section on the line X. X. of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a horizontalsection on the line Y. Y. of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan ofone of the plow blades, and Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line Z.Z. of Fig. 5.

The main frame l is preferably of steel T rail, bent as shown. Blocks 2secured on the sides of the frame l have spindles 2a. The supportingwheels 3 turn on the spindles 2a. Diagonal braces 4 strengthen theframe. The blade support 5, which is preferably cast in one piece,extends diagonally across and is securely connected with the frame l.

The angular elongated blades 6, which will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, are adapted to slide vertically in holes 5 through the bladesupport 5. The vertical blades 6 are arranged in a series diagonal tothe line of draft of the plow. The transverse distance between any twoadjacent blades is equal to, or slightly greater than the width of ablade, and after the first or leading blade of the series, each blade isbehind the next preceding blade a distance equal to or slightly greaterthan t-he width of a blade and this relative position of the bladesaffords Vfull clearance for the width of cut of all the blades andreduces friction and prevents clogging of the slices between the blades.The blades are preferably about two inches wide, but blades of otherwidth may be used without departure from my invention.

In a right-hand plow the diagonal line in which 'the blades arearranged, extends forwardly to the right and rearwardly to the left ofthe line of draft of the plow, and the right-hand blade is in the lead.In a left-hand plow the diagonal line in which the blades are arrangedextends forwardly to the left and rearwardly to the right, and theleft-hand blade is in the lead, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l.

The blades are in such relation to each other that in a right-hand plow,such as is shown in the drawings, the right-hand blade will make thefirst cut and will slide to the right the slice which it cuts, so as toleave bet-Ween the slice and the body of the land a space equal to thewidth of the blade; the second blade, to the left and in .the rear ofthe first blade will cut the second slice and slide it to the right inthe wake of the first blade gthe third blade, to the left and in therear of the second blade, will cut the third slice and slide it to theright in the wake of the second blade, and so on for all the otherblades. lf the plow is a left-hand plow, the leading or left-hand bladewill cut the first slice and slide it to the left; the second blade willcut the second slice and slide it to the left in the wake of the firstblade, and so on for all the other blades from left to right.

The yoke 7 is swiveled in a block 8, secured centrally on t-he rear endof the frame 1. A tiller wheel 9 is mounted to turn in the yoke 7 andsupports the rear end of the frame. A seat 10 is mounted on a standard12, secured on the blade-support 5.

Colters 13 are mounted to rotate in yokes 14 suitably connected with thefront of the blade-support 5. The colters are intended merely to cutstalks or trash into short lengths which will not interfere with theoperation of the plow blades. Inasmuch as the cuts of stalks or trashare not turned under, the alinement of the colter blades with the plowblades is not essential.

A horizontal bracket 15 is secured on and extends rearwardly from theblade-support 5. Parallel vertical standards 16 are secured on thebracket 15 and have integral inwardly extending hubs 16a. The shaft 1Textends through and is secured on the standards 16. Atoothed wheel 18 ismounted to rotate on the shaft 17. A forked lever 19 is mounted tooscillate on the hubs 16a of the standards 16.

A spring 20 occupies the space between the rearwardly extending lugs19at on the lever 19. A latch 21 extends through the lugs 19a and thespring 2O and the lower end of the latch enters the spaces between theteeth of the wheel 18, so that when the latch is in engagement with thewheel, forward movement of the upper end of the lever will cause thewheel to rotate clock-wiser and rearward movement of the lever willcause the wheel to rotate lcoi'inter-clock-wise. A grip lever 22 ispivotally connected with the lever 19. A rod 23 connects the latch 2land the grip lever 22, so that when the lever 22 is gripped, the rodwill pull on the latch 21 to raise the latch and disengage it from thewheel 18. A vertical rack-bar 24 is vconnected with two of the blades 6above and below the blade-support 5, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.The teeth of the bar 24 mesh with the teeth of the wheel 1S so that theclock-wise rotation of the wheel will cause the blades 6 to slidedownward and counter-clock-wise rotation of the wheel will cause theblades to slide upward.

A horizontal rod 25 extends through all the blades and connects them sothat they will move in unison upward or downward. rl`he lever 19 may beoperated to raise or lower the blades to any extent within the scope ofthe rack-bar 24.

A pawl 26 mounted on the bracket 15 is adapted to engage the wheel 18 toprevent rotation of the wheel, and is operable by the foot vof thedriver, to hold the wheel in any position in which it may be set.

All the blades are exactly alike, soa description of one will sufficefor all. The blade 6 is a steel bar somewhat thickerI at its lower end6L than it is at its upper end, and the cross section of the blade isapproximately atriangle having one obtuse angle. rlhe cutting member 6bis parallel to the line of travel of the blade and is drawn to form aknife edge 6c extending the length of the blade. The member' 6d (Fig. 5)is substantially of the contour shown and is adapted to push laterallythe deep slice of dirt cut otl`1 by the knife edge 62 The part 6ainclines upwardly as shown at 6e and merges into the body of the blade.As the blade progresses, the inclined surface 6e acts to lift from thebottom upward, to a limited extent, the slice of soil which is cut bythe knife edge 6C. It will be seen, therefore, that there is a slightupward movement of the cut slice as well as a lateral movement of theslice, and the effect of these combined movements is to pulverize theslice o-f Soil. At the lower end of the blade is an integral plow pointGf, which coperates with the inclined surface 6e Ato cause the blade toenter the ground. The depth of tillage may be varied according to thedepth at which the blade runs.

In practice a furrow of the desired depth may at the outset be plowedaround the land by means of an ordinary breaking plow.

In operating the improved slicing plow herein set forth, the first cutswill be made beginning with the cross furrow at one end of the land andrunning to the cross furrow at the other end 'of the land; thence alongthe furrow at the other end of the land, thence along the side furrow tothe first end of the land, and thence along the furrow across the firstend of the land to the place of beginning; and so on; and at each roundthe plow will cut off a number of vertical slices equal to the number ofblades of the plow.l

Another mode of operation is to set the blades for a shallow cut, saytwo inches deep for the first round, then lower the blades to cut, sayfour inches deep for the second round, and so on for a succession ofrounds, until the desired maximum depth of cut is attained; andthereafter the plow will be operated to cutthe maximum depth.

In the drawings I have illustrated twelve blades adapted to cut twelvetwo-inch slices, but the plow may be made with av greater or less numberof blades, to cut a greater or less number of slices.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A blade for deep cutting having a vertical knife edge lengthwise ofthe blade and adapted to slice soil, and a lateral member lengthwise theblade and adapted to move laterally, without turning over the surfacesoil, the slice of soil cut by the knife edge of the blade.

2. A blade having a vertical knife edge lengthwise of the blade andadapted to slice soil, also having adjacent to its lower end an inclinedsurface adapted to raise the slice of soil and also having a curvedlateral member lengthwise of the blade adapted to move laterally,without turning over the surface soil, the slice of soil cut by theknife edge of the blade and raised by the inclined surface of the blade.

3. The combination of a propellable vehicle, a blade mounted on thevehicle and having a vertical knife edge lengthwise of the blade andadapted to slice soil during the progress of the vehicle, also having acurved lateral member lengthwise of the blade and adapted to movelaterally the slice of soil cut by the knife edge of said blade.

4. vThe combination of a propellable vehicle, a blade mounted on thevehicle and having a vertical knife edge lengthwise of the blade andadapted to slice soil during the progress of the vehicle, also having acurved lateral member lengthwise of the blade and adapted to movelaterally the slice of soil cut by the knife edge of the blade, andmeans for adjusting the blade vertically to vary the depth of cut.

5. A plow comprising a plurality of vertical angular blades of equalwidth sepa rated by spaces equal to or slightly greater than the Awidthof a blade and arranged in a series diagonal to the line of draftof theplow, each blade having a lengthwise knife edge adapted to cut the soilinto deep vertical slices, and a lengthwise member adapted to movelaterally, without turning over the soil, the slice cut by said bladeand to deposit said slice in the wake of the blade making the nextpreceding cut.

G. In a plow, the combination of a main frame, supporting wheels, ablade-support diagonal to the main frame, and angular vertical bladesmounted on said blade-sup port and having lengthwise cutting edgesadapted to cut the soil into relatively deep slices parallel to the lineof draft of the plow, and vertical members adapted to slide said sliceslaterally.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Springeld,Illinois, this 20th day of June, 1910.

JAMES W. SOUTHWICK.

Witnesses:

W. S. TROXELL,

S. H. GEHLMAN.

Copies of th'ispatent may be obtained for five cents each7 by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, '.D. C.

